This is hard.

June 8-22

June 8, 2017. Accidentally showed my junk to strangers in a vehicle.

I like swimming in wild water, as I’ll call it. I can’t help it - every time I see a wild flowing stream or a clear-to-the-bottom lake, I need to be in it. Entirely. And preferably from a cliff or something. But in this instance, at Mono Basin (apparently salt water) and somewhere in the middle of the humungous state of California, it was an overflowing stream of snow-melt racing to get to the lake. You see, this rushing torrent of water had washed out the road that we were seeking overnight accommodations on, and we found a beautiful campsite basically right at the washout.  It had been a long couple of days, and, well, I was dirty. Where better to get clean than in a 32.5 degree mass of raging mountain water?  I stripped down and dunked into the water, I found myself to be lying spread eagle in too-shallow of a section, and as I got up to relocate, I found myself face to face with a shiny white Jeep Grand Cherokee full of (shocked) people that had driven down the road on the opposite side of the stream to find a hairy naked man lying spread eagle like a damned freak. Not knowing quite how to handle the situation, I sprung to action and ran to grab my towel, and disappeared into the bushes.  In the extremely unlikely case that you are the poor witnesses of this event and happen to be reading… the water was cold. Very cold.

well...

The scene of the exposure.

Flood zone campsite.

Check out Mono Basin in the Sierras, absolutely spectacular. Mountains, Desert, and Lake all smooshed together as one.  One of the best campsites so far, despite that unfortunate exposing event.

Somewhere in The Sierras

Mono Basin

Mono Basin from 9000 feet

This was all just a stop along our route to Sacramento, where we found ourselves after a quick run-in with California Border Patrol, who are obsessed with stealing your fruits, vegetables, plants, and firewood. I get it though - Japanese Beetles are the cause for such panic. Go ahead and google the affects of Japanese Beetles.

In Sacramento, we met up with our friends Matt and Maren, who we met on our honeymoon in April of 2012 and hadn’t seen since! They and their 2.8 kiddos +Ned [and a bunch of bourbon and rare (for NH boys) beers] kept us company for the few days that we stayed in town.  I utilized Matt’s elite expertise in welding to finally create a permanent bond between our bicycle rack and the proper frame members on the ole’ Jay Feather.  Odin One Construction Burn Unit 4 eva. We’re not worthy!

"Mexican Corn" - so so so delicious.

Let’s talk again about how hard it is to leave the comfort of friends….. No, let’s not.

Noteworthy Subjects:

-Northwestern Coast

-Redwood Trees (holy shit!)

towers

Giant Redwoods dwarfing our rig.

This girl.

Camping amongst these giant trees near the most beautiful beaches this country has to offer (if you don’t mind extremely cold water) is a strong feeling. Trees that you could drive through, if you had a chainsaw with a large enough bar to cut a hole.  And  dozens of elk…. get this… lying on the beach.  WHAT?!

North Pebble Beach - Crescent City, California

feeding the addiction in Siskiyou National Forest

Siskiyou National Forest

And then we parked in a brewery…. well, not IN the brewery, but within the gates…. so you get it.  My oldest friend (not in age, but in friendship length) Tim, who I have known since shortly after birth and who I grew up next to, has been with Ninkasi Brewing in Eugene, Oregon for several years, which was our next destination.  Great, great beers, most of which are very hop oriented, so they’re right up our alley.  Fresh Pacific oysters bought just down the street, so large that the best way to consume them is shucked into a small mason jar with lemon and cocktail sauce, but still eaten like a jello shot, with a couple of chews… just to make sure the loogie… I mean.. oyster receives the proper amount of respect.  Good times, Tim.

gatekeeper

fine accomodations

Oyster shot, anyone?

We had plans to meet up with a couple who we had actually met during our first week on the road (!) in the area of Bend, OR.  What could be a better location for a fine wine and cheese pairing than the absolute middle of nowhere!  It was quite nice to add a fancy feel to our wildly un-fancy lifestyle with some Columbia Valley wines and beautifully stinky cheeses. It was even greater to sit around the fire and tell travel stories with a like-minded couple.  Glad we were able to meet up with Joe and Nicole - they’re 4 months into a 4.5 month journey around the country, hosting events for their San Diego based business Gut Check Fitness. We all agreed that going back to a “normal” life after all of this was going to be nearly impossible… and improbable.  

Guys, If you’re reading this, it was so great to meet up! See you again on the road, we’re sure!

The Deckers and us!

Mt. Adams in the distance

So, we camped next to (really, like 50 feet from) a railroad at a FREE (who would pay?) campground. That was…. fun.  Truly a beautiful setting on the Columbia River despite the noise.

The Dalles, Oregon

The campsite near the railroad.

Fort Stevens State Park - Northwestern Oregon

Northern Oregon magic.

Cold, cold waterfall, after a hike up the canyon in waist deep ice water.

And now, we’re sitting at a rest area, looking nervously on to tomorrow, when we plan to cross into Canada on our way to Alaska… it seemed like the day would never come, and now that it has, I’m losing my mind.

1,834 miles from Sumas, Washington to Tok, Alaska.

We are certainly ready to get out of all of these cities, even though we skipped over SO many… mainly because they’re cities… and navigating, let alone finding a place to park, in a city while towing a trailer is somewhere down there on my fun list with jamming a pencil into my eye or sliding splinters under my fingernails.  

We’re about 8500 miles into this trip - That’s over 220 hours (nearly 10 days) of driving time. I hope that, in the end, this trip is all that we want it to be.  We are the only two that can make it to be that way.

Sometimes, the urge to turn East and make it home in 4 days is the most attractive option.  Those days, I find comfort in the words that Emily, our life coach, would have said… and probably did say: 

“You’ll never regret doing it, but you would always regret not doing it.”

Our nation's great raptor feasting on a dead seal.

an open Sea Anemone

Goonies never say "die"

Our last Oregon sunset for now.

travel companions

Smell ya later, USA. On to British Columbia for the next week or so.